Candles



May 7, 1963 F. A. KOCH 3,088,302

I CANDLES Filed March 26, 1957 mmvrox F radar/ck A. Koch g i? Mi United States Patent G 3,088,302 CANDLES Frederick A. Koch, 82 Mountain Road, Concord, N.H. Filed Mar. 26, 1957, Ser. No. 648,542 1 Claim. (CI. 67-22) My invention relates to improvements in candles and has particular reference to such as are intended for birthday cakes, although not limited thereto.

As is well known, birthday cake candles are not permitted to burn long. They are customarily blown out by the celebrant very shortly after having been lit, preparatory to the cutting of the cake. This means that only a short upper fraction of the respective candles is consumed by flame. At strictly adult birthday gatherings the unburned candle portions when pulled from the cake are a waste product, and are of course treated as such. But if children are present, and at childrens parties particularly, the usually colored unburned candle lengths constitute an attraction. The very young incline to regard such candle stumps as food, although ordinarily one bite is enough to dispossess them of this idea; and older children frequently get the idea of relighting such used candles, especially if any matches are handy.

A tallow or analogous birthday cake candle is, of course, both unpalatable and non-poisonous, and although not a dietary item for a child, a bite or so of same can be swallowed by a healthy youngster without ill effects. But a partially burned candle as an incitement to play with matches is something else again and is, of course, to be avoided.

It is therefore the primary object of my invention to provide a two part birthday cake candle unit, or the like, which comprises a preferably short wick-incorporating candle length which is supported by an edible column comprising, for instance, stick candy. Thus, the candle portions, per se, are only as long as will be required for the normal burning period, leaving the edible remainder tidbit confectionary items for distribution to the guests, or to be put aside for the children at a subsequent time. Thus, small children wont have an opportunity to bite unburned wax candle lengths and older ones wont be tempted to relight them.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a candle unit as characterized whose major portion will not bend or deform in warm weather, and thus can be readily inserted in and removed from a cake.

Additionally, the invention contemplates an item as characterized which may if desired be produced in sections for assembly when ready for use; and which further provides wax drip-catching means as a protection for the cake top.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which disclose certain now preferred examples of my inventive concept. It is to be understood that the drawing disclosures are to be taken as illustrative rather than limitative, since it will be apparent that the invention can be otherwise expressed within the spirit and scope of the subject matter claimed hereinafter.

In the drawing, wherein the same reference characters designate the same parts wherever they appear in the several views- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a birthday cake carrying different forms of my candle unit;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly broken and partly in longitudinal section showing one of the units of FIG. 1 providing the upper candle section and a lower candy section;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2 showing another of the FIG. 1 candle units; wherein the upper wick-incorporating section provides a drip intercepting flange;

3,988,302 Patented May 7, 1963 FIGS. 4 and 5 are partly sectioned and broken elevations directed to separate further modifications involving different boss and socket arrangements;

FIG. 6 shows the FIG. 5 unit With a drip-catching flange;

FIG. 7 is another partly sectioned elevation showing a modification of the FIGS. 5 and 6 boss and socket relationship;

FIG. 8 is a view like FIGS. 1 and 2 but showing the boss end of the candy stick as serrated or roughened to better bite into the wax of the candle section;

FIG. 9 is a sectional elevation of another modification shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective of the drip-catching element shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, and which is also applicable to the units of FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 7.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, FIG. 1 discloses a birthday cake 9 to which has been applied the different candle end providing units shown in FIGS. 2-9, inclusive.

Turning to FIG. 2, numeral 10 indicates What to all intents and purposes is a conventional streamlined and substantially cylindrical birthday cake candle. However, as will be noted, the candle providing unit 10 is made in two sections 11, 13. The upper section 11 comprises a wax or analogous body from the top of which extends the usual candle wick 12. As indicated, the upper section 11 is supported by the upper end of the lower section 13 which latter is of rigid edible material that is substantially impervious to heat so that it wont bend at room temperatures.

The rigid lower edible section 13, according to FIG. 2, has its upper end more or less conical as indicated at 13a, so as to be received in a corresponding socket or recess 11:: in the lower end of the upper section 11. When the sections 11, 13 are to be assembled, the socketed lower end of the section 11 may be subjected to some heat, as from a match, so as to better bond upon and against the upper portion 13a of the lower section 13.

Turning now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the slightly modified form of candle 14 there shown differs from the FIG. 2 disclosure only in that the upper section 15 (corresponding to 11 of FIG. 2) provides the endless drip-intercepting flange 13. In FIG. 3 the wax or the like upper length or section 15 carries the wick 16. Here the sections 15, 17 are assembled as in FIG. 2 as indicated at 17a, 15a. Lower section 17 provides the boss 17a received in the lower end socket 15a of the upper section 15.

Further carrying out the invention and turning to FIG. 4, the candle 19 has its upper wax section 20 provided with wick 21 and is supported by the edible rigid section 22. However, here in contradistinction to the FIGS. 2 and 3 forms, the upper section 20 has the depending cone end 20a received in the similarly formed socket or recess 22:: of the lower section 22.

The candle 23 of the FIG. 5 modification corresponds generally to that of FIG. 2 except that the wax-like upper section 24 has a differently formed lower end recess 24a to receive the generally cylindrical boss 26a of the lower section 26, the wick in FIG. 5 being indicated by reference character 25.

In the invention as expressed in FIG. 6, an endless dripintercepting flange is provided by the outer margin of the paper or other stiff material disk 27 of FIG. 10 which is clamped in place between the upper section 24 and the lower section 26 of the unit. The illustrated boss and socket interfit formation 24a, 26a corresponds to that illustrated in FIG. 5, and the disk 27 has the central boss (26a) receiving hole 27a.

The candle unit of FIG. 7, as will be understood, embodies the reverse of the boss and socket formation 24a,

T being handled in hot weather.

' 3 26a of FIG. 5 in that the upper section 29 which provides the wick 30 has the depending boss 29a which is received in the seat or socket 31a of the lower section 31.

The candle as disclosed in FIG. 8 has the drip-flangeproviding disk 27 of FIGS. 6 and and'otherwise corresponds generally with the candle illustrated in FIG. 2. However, in FIG. 8 the boss formation 35a of the lower rigid and edible section 35 is roughened or serrated, as indicated at 35a, to better bite into the walls of the socketed lower end 33a of the upper wax section 33 which carries the wick 34.

The modification of FIG. 9 differs from the units of previous figures in that the upper or wax body section 37 of the candle 36 is diametrically larger than the rigid edible lower portion 38 and provides the preferably cylindrical lower end recess 37a to receive the upper end 3811 of the rigid edible section 38. Also, the lower end of the upper section 37 provides the integral endless flange 39 for intercepting wax drip-lets from the lighted wick end of section 37.

In further carrying out the invention of FIGS. 2-8, inclusive, I preferably deeply and transversely score the respective lower edible sections as at 40, which score is spaced sufficiently belowthe joints area, such as 20a, 22a in FIG. 4, and below the lower end of the related upper candle section. This provides the lower candle section with a finger-grip area between said score line 40 and the exposed portion of its upper end so as to enable the upper ends of the edible lower sections to be broken 01f to leave the major portions thereof entirely free of wax and flat ended, so as to be free of dangerous points or edges.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that my candle unit has many advantages over the conventional wax birthday cake candle. It not only provides an edible confection as the normally unused part of the candle but in so doing eliminates the possibility of children eating wax candle stumps or relighting them with attendant fire hazard. Furthermore, the lower stifi candy, or other edible portion, provides a stifi stick-like body which will not deform in the presence of heat in storage or while This latter characteristic also facilitates insertion of the unit into the cake top and heating, since the lower edible sections are hard textured while the upper wax sections are relatively yielding.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: As a new article of manufacture, a candle-simulating substitute for an all wax-like bodied birthday cake candle or the like, comprising an elongated and functionally inte-- gral plural section body of candle form from end to end, said body providing upper and lower sections of minor and major length respectively, the shorter upper section comprising a relatively soft wick-incorporating and waxlike flame-consumable 'body, the lower section for insertion in a cake Ibeing wickless and comprising a wholly edible, hard textured but brittle candle length-simulating body of substantially impervious-to-heat material which will not become adhesive or warp or bend at atmospheric temperatures; interfitting boss and socket element-provided connecting means at the meeting ends of said sections and providing an inconspicuous joint therebetween, the relatively soft body material of the upper section-provided connecting means element yielding slightly under the applied assembling pressure of the lower section-provided connecting means element so as to provide a tight joint, and the lower section having a transverse breakoif facilitating weakened area spaced below the section-connecting joint a distance suflicient to provide a finger grip area therebetween, as an aid when breaking oif at said weakened area the subjacent portion of said lower section for subsequent consumption as a confectionary item.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 455,501 Baumer July 7, 1891 1,554,524 Rhoads Sept. 22, 1925 2,159,115 Vogel May 23, 1939 2,406,777 Koretzky Sept. 3, 1946 2,461,822 Hussey Feb. 15, 11949 

